Demon Duelist Legacy Movie 1 Heretic's Rebirth
by Wolf General
Summary: The Heretic is the demon of death and hatred. His connection to Rikuo Amero, the wolf demon lord, is unknown...but the history always comes back to haunt you.
1. Introduction

_5000 years ago the world was filled with horrors and wonders beyond the human comprehension. Wars broke out amongst the races and the world was driven to near extinction. Then the Dark Halo came and forced all of the races of the world to control themselves, lest they'd destroy everything they had come to know. Shortly after that, the Dark Halo disappeared…_

_And then he came. Spreading fire and destruction in the name of his god, he planned to destroy the entire universe, piece by piece._

_But hope came in the form of a single warrior who faced that dark force…and somehow managed to overcome the odds and seal it away. But like all things, nothing is forever. And when that dark force returns 5000 years later, who will be left to face it?_

_Only one warrior of the time…_

_Demon Duelist Legacy Movie 1- The Heretic's Rebirth

* * *

_

_Daniel Pilkington, a young man who plays the card game Duel Monsters, has had many crazy things happen to him already in his life. After winning the qualifier for a tournament being held by the Shadow Corporation, who is the top line in military hardware, he discovered something amazing about himself._

_He was a demon…_

_Well, not exactly. He was the host to a demon spirit named Rikuo, who was originally born 5000 years ago in Feudal Japan. And Rikuo had quite a past when he was alive, a past that followed him 5000 years since his death. He had been a general during that time, and had died killing his king, who had been a pure evil torture demon named Kilomet Sestros. And just like his soul was within the body of Daniel, Sestros' soul was within the body of Giovan Garlin, a chairman of the Shadow Corporation and the organizer of the Shadow Tournament._

_After facing many challenges Daniel and Rikuo reached the finals of the tournament, where they dueled against Yugi Moto, the champion of Duel Monsters. It was a tough battle, as Yugi also had an ancient spirit helping him through the duel. Finally in the end they found themselves in a tie, one unable to defeat the other._

_Giovan Garlin decided that he would duel both Rikuo and the spirit of the ancient pharaoh that Yugi possessed. After a long and grueling duel they managed to defeat the Torture King with the power of Rikuo's weapon, the Howling Sword, which had turned into a card capable of creating monsters of incredible power._

_And with that Daniel returned home not as a champion, but as a true duelist. And Rikuo had found peace knowing that the evil of Kilomet Sestros was truly gone.

* * *

_

"Sir, reports show that the Heretic's forces are currently moving towards us from the north, through the mountains." The scout spoke quickly and fluently, knowing too easily what would happen if he wasn't completely punctual in his report to the general.

Sitting in his chair, Rikuo Amero brushed some of his raven-black hair away from the wolf ears that sat on top of his head. At 7' in height, he was already an intimidating figure, but adding in the fact that there was a heavy katana that most likely weighed more than the soldier speaking to him, it made the wolf demon all the more ferocious seeming. "Is that all?" A pair of golden-amber eyes burned right into the soldier's.

"Y...yes milord." The soldier stood his ground, knowing that if the mighty General of the Wolf Demon Tribes wanted him dead then he would be dead already.

Rikuo closed his eyes for a few moments…and then frowned. "Tell the other generals that my army is moving out immediately to intercept. Whether they follow or not is there choice, but regardless I am going there now." He stood up and tied his sword around his waist.

The soldier was gone the second he had stopped talking.

* * *

"Master…" A black-cloaked form stood at the entrance to a tent, the inside completely dark. "They have fallen for our…" Whatever else he had planned to say was replaced by screaming as he exploded into flames, reduced to ash in a matter of seconds.

"Our trap?" A hand reached out and brushed the flap of the tent aside. "There is no 'our' trap. There is my trap. And now I will strike all of those fools down with one blow. Apep shall be pleased as I annihilate what remains of the forces that have been pushed against him." From the shadows of the night a single ruby red eye gave off a deadly light, like freshly spilled blood.

* * *

Screams rang across the mountainside. Blood flowed like water upon the ground. And the Heretic's forces were winning with ease.

Another troop of demon soldiers screamed in pain as they were consumed by an explosion of black fire, leaving nothing behind to even say they had been killed.

The Heretic's troops were horrible creatures, twisted shadows with forms of the worst creatures imaginable. And they were just are difficult to kill as the monsters they emulated. Only a few had fallen, while thousands of demons had died in just the last hour of battling.

Rikuo watched emotionlessly as another phalanx of his guards were eaten alive by a horrid monstrosity that looked something like the dragons that were legends amongst the humans. ("This is a suicide run…we will not win at this rate. Though we have the number advantage, our enemy has the very night working for them. As such…") He looked down at the katana…and drew it free. Blue-white phantom fire exploded along its blade. "Howling Sword…my weapon….let us go into battle!"

"Milord!" One of Rikuo's aides almost made the mistake of grabbing the wolf demon's arm to try and stop him physically. "If you fall then our troops will lose their morale…you're the thing that keeps them motivated to fight."

His lips curled up enough to reveal his two elongated canine teeth. "Then let me remind them why I am such a terror!" Snapping the sword up, he leapt off of the cliff and dropped at least 300 feet….right into the body of one of the nightmares. It howled in pain…and then exploded into dust.

* * *

The Heretic looked out over the beautiful ranges. Even from here he could smell the blood, and the fear of the demons. ("My god…my divine beast…") He bowed his head and chanted once more, holding his snake-headed staff under his chin and speaking his words with the mastery of a true mage.

All of the shadows changed tactics suddenly, and the demon body count sky-rocketed.

Rikuo howled along with his sword as one of the shadows exploded into pieces from his strike. ("That's 40…but there are still over 600 more of them and I'm getting tired.") His muscles trembled rapidly as the draining touches of the shadow monsters sucked up his energy. "I'm destroying you all!" The Howling Sword fell downwards and destroyed another shadow, but every scrap from it brushed his face and sucked the life right out of him.

The Heretic watched as a pillar of blue-white fire consumed another of his monsters. ("Hmmm…I see. So that one is the…") His red eye widened in surprise. ("Well surprise…surprise…") Lifting the staff, he aimed the eyes of the golden snake staff right at the form that was leading the tails of phantom fire which tore through his shadows. "I will silence you, Rikuo." Twin beams of red light shot from the staff and hurtled towards the wolf demon.

Rikuo's ears perked up as he heard the whiz of something hurtling towards him. Snapping up the flat of the Howling Sword, he watched with mild amazement as two beams of red light hit his sword and sent sparks flying everywhere around him.

The Heretic snarled and leapt onto the head of one of his shadows. With a single mental command it lowered him down towards the general. Pulling a sword out of his robes, he leapt towards the wolf demon. "Prepare yourself!"

Rikuo snapped up the Howling Sword and their blades met, creating an explosion of fire and black wind that destroyed the shadow which had been carrying the Heretic. Nearby trees were blown over and large rocks right next to them shattered into smaller piles of rocks.

Finally their blades broke away and Rikuo was sent skidding away a few feet. ("He's strong…very strong…")

The Heretic started to chuckle, his shadowed form lifting the sword slowly. "Rikuo Amero, the wolf demon general. You're one of the strongest amongst the twelve of the demon generals…but still no threat to my quest. I will destroy you and your whole army, along with all of your pathetic little offspring!" His sword pulsed with dark wind, creating numerous little tornadoes that blew away some trees and some boulders as well.

"The Heretic…the one who comes from another land. A place…" His non-sword holding hand snapped up quickly, sending a large hunk of rock towards the Heretic. And at the same time he snapped up the Howling Sword and charge full speed towards his target.

Without flinching the Heretic yelled something arcane and the rock shattered. Another word later Rikuo was sent bouncing down the mountain-side. "Fool…" He leapt onto the back of another shadow and it flew after the wolf demon. "May Apep spare you his wrath!"

Rikuo coughed up a few gobs of blood onto his armor and propped himself against the stone behind him. ("Damn it all…I…can't win…")

The Heretic, who had been unharmed in any way, approached the fallen demon with his sword held high. "Are you ready to meet your gods?"

Rikuo's lips lifted weakly. "No…no I'm not. But perhaps…you can introduce me to yours? Or is he too busy hiding from real gods?"

A dark growl escaped the Heretic's cloak. "You bastard…die!" He charged, the blade up and ready to behead the wolf demon.

Rikuo's smile got a little stronger. "If there is one thing that you must remember about me, keep this in mind." He kicked a rock off to his side…and something dropped from the pile of rocks next to him. "You are weak, and I am strong."

The Heretic stopped in mid-movement, his single eye wide in surprise. "You…" He turned his head to look at the Howling Sword, which was sticking right out of his left shoulder. "How did…"

Rikuo chuckled tiredly. "The Howling Sword…is very unique in that it drops sharp end first always. And it is sharper than your flesh."

Spurts of blood sprayed out of the Heretic's cloak. "Damn you…I hate you…" He dropped his sword and started to pull the sword back out the way it came in. "I'll…"

Rikuo stood up and bared his claws, showing he was nowhere near as injured as he seemed. "Now then…" He lunged and punctured the Heretic's stomach with one blow, leaving his arm in there to let the monstrosity feel just a little of the pain he had caused. "You're dead…"

"I know that…" The Heretic's hand reached down and grabbed Rikuo's neck, squeezing it tightly. "I don't feel pain…I am a servant of the god who destroys everything! Pain is nothing but a minor tingle to me!"

Rikuo growled as the grip on his throat tightened. His free arm snapped up and slashed across the Heretic's face. As shreds of black fabric brushed past his face, his eyes widened in complete surprise.

The Heretic sneered, his face revealed. His elongated canine teeth glittered in the dull light of the moon. "Is something the matter, Rikuo?"

The wolf demon stared in confusion, his arms going lax. "Hokkou…it can't be…"

Hokkou flexed his claws and squeezed Rikuo's neck harder now that the wolf demon offered no resistance. "It's been such a long time…how big you have grown…such a shame that now you must die!"

Rikuo's eyes stared at the face that so much like his own. ("This can't be…") His spine started to crack…

A spear slammed through Hokkou's chest and sent him flying away.

And the owner of that spear, a demon in golden armor with long golden hair, stepped past the now panting Rikuo. "There you are Amero. So what's the matter? Is it too hard for you to kill this weakling…"

"Jourgen…" The wolf demon clutched at his damaged throat. "You don't understand…"

"I don't want to understand." The dragon demon held out one hand and the spear pulled right out of Hokkou's chest and back to his hand. "Now then…I'll destroy the Heretic…"

_("Jourgen don't!")_ A loud voice rang out in Daniel Pilkington's head.

After clutching at his skull for a moment, the red-haired boy closed his eyes. ("Rikuo, what's wrong?")

The wolf demon went silent in his head. _("N…nothing…")_

Daniel rolled his eyes. ("You're insane.")

_To be continued…_


	2. Part 2

_Demon Duelist Legacy Movie one Part 2_

July7th 2005

THE MOST POWERFUL CARDS REVEALED

The popular card game Duel Monsters has been the spark of many different strange happenings.

And the most recent set of occurrences has brought out lots of controversy amongst critics and experts of the game alike.

Shadow Corporation, one of the top leaders in military hardware, held a Duel Monsters Tournament on an island located off the coast of Japan. The island was originally a holding camp for mentally unstable criminals, hence its nickname, The Asylum.

There was no definite winner of the tournament because in the finals the two teams, Team Topdeck (Daniel Pilkington, Deondre Anderson, and CJ Anderson) and Team Domino (Yugi Moto, Seto Kaiba, and Joey Wheeler) ended up with one win, one loss, and one tie.

The organizer of the tournament, Giovan Garlin, then dueled Daniel Pilkington and Yugi Moto in a two on one duel. In the end the final blow was struck by Pilkington, using an incredibly powerful card to do the job.

Legendary Weapon Card-Howling Sword

Equipment magic card

Effect: Increase the equipped monster's attack power by 1000, and then double its current attack power. If the equipped monster is sacrificed to summon a monster through tribute or through any effect then equip this card to the new monster. This effect can only be used by the original owner of this card.

Using this card Pilkington struck down Garlin. There has been no comment by Pilkington thus far on where this card has come from.

July8th 2005

MYSTERIOUS CARD IN OWNERSHIP OF WORLD CLASS DUELIST

In a follow-up to yesterday's report on the shadow tournament, we have new information concerning the strange cards have been reported there. Daniel Pilkington is once again connected to these strange cards. After gathering information, we have found out that through the databases of the shadow corporation a new card that has not been printed by any know group of legal and printers.

Hell Meteor

Normal magic card

Effect: Deal your opponent 4000 life points of direct damage.

This card, according to sources, is currently in the possession of Pilkington, who is a resident of Las Vegas, NV in the United States.

_Meadows Mall; Las Vegas, NV_

"Yeah, can I please have six number seven orders?" A hand reached out and deposited a twenty dollar bill in the hands of the McDonald's employee.

Daniel Pilkington brushed back his long messy red hair and shoved his hands into his pockets, walking back towards his table. His brown eyes glanced around him for a moment, taking in the sights and smells of the world he lived in. A world free of nightmares like Giovan Garlin. ("Man…I'm glad that whole Shadow Tournament is completely done.") Straightening a few wrinkles in his blue t-shirt and jeans, he took a deep breath and felt his worries disappear.

As he approached his table he had to smile at what he heard. "My heart was beating in my chest. With that Deck Destruction effect in play all of my strong monsters were already in my graveyard. I was just left with my D.D. Scout Plane and a few other weak cards…"

The speaker was Deondre Anderson, one of Daniel's best friends. The dark-skinned boy readjusted his baseball bat and smirked, his basketball jersey ruffling in the air conditioned food court of the mall. "And what was more; Kaiba had one of his Blue-Eyes White Dragons already in play. I was completely pinned down, unable to do little more than stand back and play defensively." All around the table sat Daniel's other friends, some not even paying attention to him.

Janeam, wearing a black t-shirt and shorts, rolled his eyes and put his head into his palm. "You must be delusional. Playing defensively…" He snorted. "I watched you on the TV. You were barely staying alive during that duel."

"What?" Deondre punched his fist into the air. "If you were watching then you saw how I completely annihilated Kaiba with his own dragons! It was a work of art and you know it!"

"Yeah right…" Janeam glanced over at the approaching Daniel. "I'm more impressed with the fact that Daniel had actually managed to not only defeat the organizer of the tournament, but had also dueled the King of Games to a draw. Considering how little experience he had, it's a miracle that he pulled it off."

Deondre growled low in his throat. He knew exactly how Daniel had done all of that, and he knew that Daniel honestly didn't deserve any praise. It was all the accomplishment of Rikuo Amero, the demon spirit living within him. "Yeah…it was a miracle alright."

Rebecca Pilkington brushed back some of her blonde hair and grinned at her older brother. "You're such a dork, bro."

"Hey, what did I do?" Daniel frowned, his cheeks flushing red as he realized he was the topic of conversation. "I just put my best effort into it, nothing more."

"Yeah right…" She dead-panned. It was no secret to her about Rikuo.

Allon Sadyaa smirked at the blushing Daniel. "I agree with Janeam, it was a miracle. There is no other way to explain how you managed to not get run over by Yugi Moto."

"Honestly, don't you guys have anything better to do than talk about me?" Daniel looked away, his cheeks glowing red. He was blushing more though because of what he heard in his head. Rikuo was laughing his ass off. ("I hate you Rikuo…")

More laughter echoed in his head. _("I hate you too, my ningen.")_

"Hey Daniel…can we see that Howling Sword card?" The question had come from Janeam.

Daniel froze up. ("Rikuo?")

_("No. The human may not look upon my sword.")_

"I'm sorry," He shook his head. "I can't…" His eyes widened as he felt someone tug his deck box off from his belt. "Hey!"

Rebecca popped open the box and pulled out a card, throwing it across the table to Janeam. "Here you go."

Janeam caught the gold-bordered card and whistled in amazement. "Wow…this thing is incredible. Where did you get it?"

Daniel glared at his sister and then snatched the card right out of Janeam's hand. "I got it from people."

Rebecca rolled her eyes. "Are you afraid of your cards? Why don't you show us your ultimate card?"

Daniel's blush disappeared and was replaced by a pale white expression. "W…what card?"

"The Hell Meteor." She tilted her head to the side. "There's no other card in the world like it. I mean…it deals 4000 life points of damage to whoever you use it on."

Janeam and Allon both went slack-jawed at him, while Deondre stared at her like she was insane. "What are you doing?"

Daniel shivered a couple of times and looked down at his deck box. A slow tremble ran up his arm. ("The Hell Meteor…") A couple drops of sweat dripped down his temple.

_Daniel screamed as he felt the flames around him sear deep into his flesh. No matter how hard he tried he could not get away from it. It didn't matter where he ran to, the fire always found him. He heard a voice laughing in distance, but that was the last thing on his mind..._

Rebecca stared at Daniel, whose eyes were a very dull shade of red. "Daniel? Are you okay?"

He looked down at the box…and slowly opened the box top, sliding a card out slowly. ("It's there…the power to destroy it all…") Another sweat drop slid down his cheek. ("The power of death…")

One of the TVs overlooking the food court flickered and a huge 'Exclusive Report' came up on the screen. The picture changed to that of a reporter standing in a parking lot. "Ladies and gentlemen, we're sorry to interrupt your current programming but we have a special news report for you."

Everyone snapped their heads up to look at the screen. Everyone except Daniel, who was still sliding that card slowly out of his deck box.

"We're currently outside the Meadows Mall here in downtown Las Vegas with a special report for all of you fans of Duel Monsters out there."

Quite a few of the people around the mall looked up at the different screens.

The reporter was walking towards the doors of the mall. "World Class Duelist Daniel Pilkington, who won the worldwide Shadow Tournament just a few days ago, is currently in this mall. And we're going to try to get an interview with him." He blinked in surprise behind the camera. "Hey! This is my story not…" Someone shoved the camera aside and it fell, breaking and replacing the image on the screen with white snow.

The ground started to shake, like an earthquake was gathering beneath everyone.

Deondre, Janeam, Allon and Rebecca all paled. Then they all looked at Daniel.

He just stood there, his body trembling as memories of the Hell Meteor came through mental blockades in his mind. ("No…not again…help me…") Dropping to his knees, he clutched at his head while he deck box fell to the ground with a clatter.

Deondre nearly smacked Rebecca in the back of the head, but restrained himself. "You just had to mention the Meteor, didn't you?" The rumbling got louder, and the sound of dozens of sets of feet could be heard in the not-so-far distance. Helping Daniel to his feet, he looked at Allon and Janeam. "Buy us time guys." Grabbing the deck box and Daniel's backpack, he helped the boy walk away from the food court.

The tidal wave of reporters flowed into the food court, looking around for Daniel. "Where is he?"

Allon pointed the opposite direction that Deondre had gone. "That way! Hurry, he's heading for his car!" And then he had to leap aside while the reporters flowed past him.

Deondre and Rebecca held up Daniel, dragging him down the walkways. "We have to hurry…" Another rumbling shook the floor. "Now what?" Deondre looked over the railing and farther down the mall. "Oh my god…"

There was a mob of people charging towards them, and each one of those people was wearing a Duel Disk.

Deondre groaned and removed his duel disk from his backpack. "Listen…find someone to hide him for now. I'll keep these guys busy."

Rebecca nodded and dragged him away.

Deondre activated his duel disk. "Hold it!" The crowd slowed down right in front of him. "What's the deal? You guys want to duel?"

"We're here to challenge Daniel Pilkington to an ante duel for the Hell Meteor and Howling Sword cards!" One of the apparent leaders of the pack, a huge man wearing a leather jacket with a crew-cut nearly stepped right through the dark-skinned young man. "Now get out of our way! Those cards are worth a lot of money, and I'll be the one to win it!"

Deondre grimaced. ("I can fight…but I can't fight them all.") "It isn't going to happen! Don't you know there is a test to challenge the great Daniel Pilkington?" He snapped up a finger to point right at the man's nose. "Well first you have the other members of Team Topdeck to do it!"

"Fine, then I'll duel you!" The man stepped back and everyone moved aside. His duel disk clicked into place. "Duel!"

Deondre- 8000

Man- 8000

Deondre snapped six cards off of his deck. Looking at his hand he slapped down two cards. "I summon D.D. Scout Plane (800/1200) and then special summon Dimensional Doppelganger (800/1200) which copies one monster that I normal summon if it has Dimension or D.D. in its name!" A strange machine appeared on the field and alongside it another machine appeared. "End turn."

The man drew. "I summon Manju of the Ten-Thousand Hands (1400/1000) in attack mode!" A hideous grey monster appeared on the field. "When normal summoned, this monster lets me take a ritual magic card from my deck to my hand." He held up a card from his deck. "I activate Zera Ritual!" A card from his hand disappeared. "I sacrifice eight level stars worth of monsters…" Manju disappeared. "And summon Zera the Mant!" (2800/2000) A giant blue demon appeared on the field and roared at Deondre. "Attack Dimensional Doppelganger now!" It snapped across the short distance between them and slashed through the machine, blowing it apart. "Also, I set one card face-down on the field. End turn!"

Deondre drew. "I play Pot of Greed!" A large smiling green vase appeared on the field. "I draw two cards!" Holding up the extra two cards, he smirked at what he saw. "Alright, I drew the perfect card! Go Cost Down!" A card from his hand disappeared. "By sacrificing one card from my hand I can lower the level of all monsters in my hand and on my field by two stars!"

The man snickered. "Zera will crush you…"

"Yeah right." Deondre pointed at the D.D. Scout Plane. "I sacrifice my monster to summon Dark Magician (2500/2100) in attack mode!" A purple-robed spellcaster appeared on the field in place of the machine. "Also, I play the magic card Magical Silk Hats!" A huge black top-hat fell over the field and concealed the magician. Then it turned into four hats. "Four Magical Silk Hat Tokens (0/0) are summoned to the field. The Magician is concealed under one of those hats. Finally, I set two cards face-down on the field underneath two separate hats. End turn." Now he had no cards in his hand, but his plan was set now.

The man drew. "You're a fool! I play Heavy Storm! This card will destroy all magic and trap cards in play!" An explosion of wind shattered the hats, his set card, and Deondre's two set cards. All that was left was their monsters. "Also, I summon La Jinn the Magical Genie of the Lamp (1800/1000) in attack mode!" A green Genie appeared on the field. "That isn't all though, because I play the magic card Tribute to the Doomed! By discarding one card from my hand I can destroy one monster in play!" An explosion of mummy wrapping swallowed up the Magician and pulled it out of sight.

Deondre ground his teeth.

"Direct attack!" The man's two monsters flew forwards and slammed right into Deondre, sending him stumbling backwards. "I have no cards in my hand, so my turn is done."

Deondre- 3400

Man- 8000

Deondre slowly lifted his head to reveal a calm smile on his face. "Draw!" He held the card up. "You just did exactly what I was hoping you would do!"

"You wanted me to destroy your set cards?" The man narrowed his eyes. "Why?"

"Because the cards I set can only be activated from the graveyard! First is the magic card Pulled from Reality! This card lets me take two monsters from my deck and remove them from play!" Two cards in his deck dissolved into dust. "Also, I play Soul Release from my hand to remove Dark Magician, D.D. Scout Plane and Dimensional Doppelganger from the game." A white mist came from his graveyard slot. "Now for the final blow! My graveyard trap is Trap Scouter! This card removes itself from the game at the cost of half of my life points to let me play one trap from my deck during this turn!"

Deondre- 1700

Man- 8000

Deondre removed a card from his deck and held it up. "My trap card is Return from a Different Dimension! At the cost of half of my life points I can return as many removed from play monsters as I can from one player's removed from play pile!" A hole opened up in the sky. "Return now!"

The Dark Magician lowered down, and alongside it a pair of metal futuristic suits of armor. And then behind them the Dimensional Doppelganger (800/1200) and D.D. Scout Plane (800/1200) returned to play. "I chose to remove D.D. Crushers (0/0) from my deck! These monsters can be sacrificed to destroy one monster in play and deal its attack in damage to its owner!" Both of them started to make a humming noise.

"Oh no!" The man stumbled back, eyes wide. "You…"

"I've won! Explosion Hammer!" The two suits of armor tackled Zera and La Jinn, blowing them apart. "Dark Magician, D.D. Scout Plane, and Dimensional Doppelganger attack directly!" All three of his remaining monsters released blasts of energy that hit the man and send him to the ground.

Deondre- 1700

Man- 0

As the holograms faded away the man stood up and growled angrily. "Why you little…I don't care about some stupid test duel against you anyway! My target is Pilkington!" He charged, ready to bowl Deondre over.

Deondre frowned as the rest of the duelists started to charge along with him. ("I can't stop all of them…") Cocking back his fist, he smiled slightly. "But I'll break your chin at least, big man."

Suddenly someone shoved past him and head-butted the man, breaking his nose and sending him to the ground. The rest of the mob slid to a stop in complete amazement at the giant dark-skinned man in front of them.

CJ Anderson cracked his knuckles. "Who wants to duel next?"

A man in a business suit stepped forward. "You'll be dueling me!"

CJ smirked and lifted his arm to reveal his duel disk and deck already in place. "I love it. And here I thought clothes shopping were going to suck today."

Deondre sighed. "How is it that a guy as big as you just manages to appear out of nowhere?"

_Break in film._

To LucienShadowMaster: Sestros is a king. Why would he be out in battle when he could have Rikuo do it for him? It's a vision.

To Demon Fan: Don't compare Star Wars to my story please. A mid-air clash of swords is an anime trademark actually, so therefore Star Wars would have copied it from them if there was to be some kind of stupid copyright suit.

To Time Mage: It's a demon method of making weapons and its magic. Hence yes, the Howling Sword can weight a lot. At least enough to the point that if you aren't a demon and you try to wield it you wouldn't be able to.


	3. Part 3

_Demon Duelist Legacy Movie 1; The Heretic's Rebirth

* * *

_

Rebecca dragged Daniel out of immediate sight and collapsed, currently strained to her limit from carrying him around. "Come on Daniel, snap out of it already." She shook him a few times. "Or at least tell me that Rikuo is going to wake up and deal with those duelist jerks. I don't think Deondre can do it alone."

Daniel's eyes were currently staring into space, the irises dead black.

Her hand slapped across his cheek. "Would someone please answer me?"

There was no response though. Nothing but a momentary whisper of air escaping lips.

* * *

CJ snapped up his hand. "Draw!" Glancing at the drawn card he looked at the field and his opponent's monsters. ("Here goes nothing…") 

CJ- 400

Opponent- 3400

His opponent, the man in the business suit, currently had XYZ Dragon Cannon (2800/2600) on the field and no other cards in his hand.

CJ had two cards in his hand, including the card he had drawn. ("Hmmm…I think I've got this.") "First I play the magic card Monster Reborn! I revive Twin-Headed Beast (1700/1500) to the field." A two-headed lion-like beast that was on fire appeared on the field and roared at the man and his machine. "Also, Riryoku! This card takes half of your monsters attack points and gives them to my monster for the turn." (3100/1500) "Direct attack!" The lion monster tackled the machine and blew it apart. (1400/2600)

CJ- 400

Opponent- 1800

The man reached for his deck, but gasped in pain as the beast tackled him again.

CJ shook a finger in the air. "Twin-Headed Beast can attack two times per battle phase."

CJ- 400

Opponent- 0

* * *

Rebecca shook Daniel again and growled. "Get up…" 

His eyes lit up brown and he pushed her away. "Ow…what happened?"

"You had a nice little psychotic episode!" She slapped him again. "And now Deondre is dueling a bunch of crazy people all alone!"

He stood up weakly. "I'm…kind of dizzy right now…so let me rest for the moment." A weak sigh escaped his lips and he started to drop.

Rebecca leapt to catch him, but her eyes widened as in mid-fall his hair exploded out behind him like a wave of water. His hands sprouted claws and he pushed off the floor, returning to a standing position without losing a beat. "Keh, stupid human. He actually is still that badly affected by the Hell Meteor."

"Rikuo…." Rebecca said breathlessly, stepping back slowly.

The wolf demon, a pair of red-furred wolf ears on top of his head, turned to look at her with his gold-amber eyes. "Hello. So, are the humans still chasing us?"

"No, Deondre stopped them from…but we still have to help…" She stared at him as he turned and wandered away. "Where are you going?"

"The not-so-dumb ape will be fine." The wolf demon grumbled in frustration and tore open a hole in the back of his pants, his tail popping free. "Stupid human clothing…"

* * *

Deondre looked down at his deck and then up at his opponent's field. ("Fifth opponent…and still no end in sight!") 

His new opponent, a boy in a green jumpsuit stepped forward. "I am Kyo! Duel!" His deck clicked into place.

Kyo- 8000

Deondre- 8000

Kyo drew. "I begin with the magic card Forbidden Summon! One monster from my hand can be special summoned regardless of requirements if I discard a hand of four or more cards!" He took a single card from his hand and discarded his remaining four cards. "I summon End Bringer!" (4000/0) A giant worm exploded out of the ground. "When this card is summoned both players shuffle their hands back into their deck."

Deondre gasped as his five cards disappeared back to where they had come from. ("Damn it….")

Kyo pointed at Deondre. "End Bringer can attack during the first turn! Worm Slash!" It shot out a single blade that slashed right through Deondre's chest. "End turn."

Kyo- 8000

Deondre- 4000

Deondre looked down at his deck again. "You want to play dirty?" Snapping the top card off of his deck, he smirked. "Well let me give you a taste of reality! And reality is that I'm the Dimension Duelist. You can't beat me! From my hand I activate the magic card Alternate Dimension Duel! This card switches our fields for one turn!" End Bringer teleported to his field. "By the way….we switch life point totals! End Bringer, attack with Worm Slash!" Another cutter left the worm's mouth and slashed through Kyo's chest.

Kyo- 0

Deondre- 8000

As the field faded another duelist stepped forward. And CJ stepped forward too.

* * *

Rikuo wandered around the mall for a little while, growling at anyone who stared at him too long. ("Damned humans…") 

"Hey, there he is!" A low rumble shook the mall floor.

The wolf demon narrowed his eyes and glanced behind him, nearly blinded by the sudden thousands of blasts from flash-bulbs. "What in the hell?" Trying to rub the spots from his eyes Rikuo back-stepped. The rumbling kept coming towards him. "Insolent human specks!" The claws of right hand started to glow light blue. "I'll kill you all!"

The reporters all slid to a stop, staring the ferocious figure in front of them.

As Rikuo's vision returned, he sneered coldly and started to walk towards them. "Oh little humans…let's play…"

* * *

CJ- 8000 

Pierre- 8000

CJ drew. "I start with Enraged Battle Ox (1700/1000) in attack mode!" A red-faced Minotaur appeared on his field. "End turn!"

Pierre twirled one part of his black moustache and smirked. "It's the time for the great Pierre to get to work! I summon Spin Controller!" (1800/1000) A red-armored warrior holding a Yo-Yo in both hands appeared on the field. "Attack Enraged Battle Ox! Also, I activate the quickplay magic card Destruction Spin! When Spin Controller deals you life point damage I can discard one card from my deck to force you to do the same! Also, I activate another quickplay magic card. Go Endless Crush! This card allows Destruction Spin to be used as many times as I wish!" He held up his whole deck. "34 cards for 34." CJ's deck disappeared, while his Enraged Battle Ox was blown apart by a Yo-Yo to the face. "End turn. Now you have no deck, so you lose."

CJ drew a single card sitting on his disk slot. "Oh really? Well you made one mistake…and that was thinking I wasn't ready. Outstanding Dog Marron (100/100) when sent to the graveyard is shuffled back into my deck, so I do have a card to draw. End turn."

CJ- 7900

Pierre- Loss by deck-out

* * *

As the last reporter ran away screaming, Rikuo glanced at all the pieces of cloth around him. "You're lucky I didn't feel like killing any of you." Turning, he shoved his hands into his pockets and walked away…but stopped as something caught his eyes. "What's this?" 

There was a sign hung up over an entrance. _Japanese Antiques_.

Rikuo snickered and walked inside. "Why not, I have some time."

* * *

Deondre smirked. "Different Dimension Dark Magician's special ability lets him remove one monster from the game!" His opponent's Millennium Shield disappeared. "Direct attack!" The crystal-blue spellcaster leapt forward and blew the duelist away with a single blast of energy. 

Deondre- 5000

Opponent- 0

* * *

Rikuo ignored the store owner's reaction to seeing him. ("I'm a customer, so therefore he'll know to stay out of my way.") As he looked among the racks of different items, some things which actually had a few memories in his mind, he stopped when he walked up to a glass display case. ("What's this?") 

Sitting in the case was a golden staff with a snake's head at one end. The rubies the head had for eyes sent Rikuo into a moment of pause. Something about it was remarkably familiar to him. "Shopkeep, what is that?"

The owner, a rather young Japanese man, ran up to the wolf demon. "That is a very rare find indeed. It was said to originally…urk!"

Rikuo, still looking at the case, pulled the man in close by the collar. "Where?"

"Somewhere in center mountain ranges of Japan…"

The wolf demon frowned…and shrugged it off. Throwing the owner aside he turned and walked out. "Piece of junk…"

If he had been paying attention he would have noticed how the eyes of the staff were now glowing.

* * *

CJ- 2700

Opponent- 4000

The man, who was wearing a white tuxedo and sunglasses with a black pony-tail, smirked at the large man. "I've got you trapped. Thanks to the power of Great Maju Garzette (0/0) and Maju Garzette (0/0) I have you locked. Because I sacrificed higher level monsters to them, their attack scores are more than strong enough to take you down." (6000/0) (8900/0) Also, he had Ultimate Offering and Attack Booster in play in his magic and trap zone, along with two set cards. "End turn." In his hand was a single card.

CJ looked at the four cards in his hand. "Draw!" Snapping up the drawn card he smiled slightly. "Let's see how you handle this!" He had Berserk Gorilla (2000/1000) in play with Mad Dog of Darkness (1900/1400 and Panther Warrior. (2000/1600) "I offer these three monsters to summon Gilford the Lightning!" (2800/1400) The three monsters disappeared and were replaced by a towering warrior holding a thick black steel sword. "When three monsters are offered for this creature's summoning then it destroys all monsters in play! Lightning Crush!" Electricity arched along Gilford's sword.

The man sneered and discarded his hand card. "Reveal Divine Wrath! This counter trap costs one hand card but it negates the activation of a monster effect and destroys the monster!" The lightning from Gilford's sword overloaded and blew it apart. "You're finished…"

Deondre smirked from behind CJ. "You in trouble there buddy?"

CJ grimaced and looked at his hand. "You want to play rough? Then let's play! From my hand I activate Monster Reborn! Revive Gilford the Lightning!" The tanned warrior reappeared on the field.

The man chuckled. "Reveal Bottomless Trap Hole. This card will remove Gilford from the game." A hole opened up in the ground under Gilford's feet and pulled it out of sight. "This duel is done…"

CJ snapped up another card. "Pot of Greed!" Drawing two cards he smiled. "It's time to slay these demons! I offer a water, fire, earth, wind, light and dark monster from my graveyard as a sacrifice!" Six balls of light appeared on the field and pulled together into one big ball. "Nexus the Conqueror (3500/3000) is summoned!" A golden armored warrior with a giant claymore on his back appeared on the field.

"What will that piece of trash do?" The man chuckled again. "Did you forget the attack power of my two monsters?"

"Far from it…" CJ held up another card. "Monster Returned lets me special summon one monster from my removed from play pile to the field. Gilford the Lightning returns to play!" Now he had two mighty warriors standing alongside each other.

"I'll still…"

CJ snapped up his last card. "I activate Polymerization! Fuse together these two monsters…" Both monsters were pulled into a vortex. What emerged was a giant humanoid in armor holding both Gilford's sword and Nexus' sword, its long black hair flowing in the wind behind it. "Gilford the Conqueror (3500/3500) is summoned!"

"Gilford the Conqueror?" The man stared at the creature. "What can it possibly do? Unless it can copy Gilford's effect then there is no purpose for it."

"It can't copy Gilford's effect…but it doesn't have to!" CJ pointed at the man. "Go Gilford, attack with Tempest Saber!" The titanic warrior barreled towards Great Maju Garzette.

"You can't be serious, Garzette has 8900 attack points!"

"Yeah, but Gilford has a special ability! When he battles with a stronger monster that monster's attack power is cut in half and the removed points are given to him!" (4450/0) (7950/3500) Gilford slashed through the demon and it exploded into dust.

CJ- 2700

Opponent- 500

The man ground his teeth. "Why you little…"

"I'm not done yet! Gilford the Conqueror has another special ability! When it destroys an enemy's monster as a result of battle it can destroy one monster in play with less attack strength than that of the monster it killed!" Great Maju Garzette exploded into dust. "That monster's attack points will be deducted from your life points! Lightning Holy Wave!" Gilford drove its sword right in the man's chest.

CJ- 2700

Opponent- 0

As the man fell CJ pounded his fist into his hand. "That's the last one…"

Deondre sighed. "I'm exhausted…"

* * *

Meanwhile, the Japanese store owner grimaced and brushed himself off. "What kind of freak was that guy anyway?"

The eyes of the staff shimmered brighter.

"He had some nerve to come in here and start roughing me up…"

The glass case began to crack.

Turning his head slowly, the man got enough time to blink right before the case exploded outwards, spraying him with glass shards. One of those shards slammed right into his jugular, and he dropped to the ground wordlessly.

_("I can feel it…I can feel life…") _A black shadow leaked from the staff's base and started to pool in front of the case. _("And I can feel you, Rikuo. Your scent…it has awakened me…")_

_Break in film…_

To Bobbomp: How stupid of me. I forgot entirely about that mid-air sword clash scene in the first three Star Wars movies which never happened. I was referring to Revenge of the Sith.

To Time Mage: Not all of them, but the interesting ones yes.

To Gryphinwyrm7: This is currently going on about three days since the Shadow Tournament, so I have no idea. I don't remember when your story occurs specifically.


	4. Part 4

_Demon Duelist Legacy Movie 1- The Heretic's Rebirth_

Rikuo kicked a nearby trashcan into the air casually. "This whole city stinks, literally and figuratively. What's the point of living in the middle of a desert?" So far only twenty different armed thugs had tried to rob him, and none of them were accomplished fighters. So it was easy to defeat them in battle and steal their wallets. ("I'm not sure how much money I made, but I'm sure it'll be a good amount. Maybe I can get some damned food with it.") Then he noticed something in the distance that brought a tingle of memory to him. ("What's this? The Egyptians are here? And they brought one of their stupid pyramids with them too. I might as well make sure they aren't causing any problems.")

* * *

CJ frowned, walking along with Rebecca, Allon, Janeam, and Deondre down the street of downtown Las Vegas. "So Rikuo took over and ran off huh?" 

Rebecca nodded. "Yeah…this sucks…stupid wolf demon."

Allon and Janeam exchanged confused looks. They didn't know about Rikuo.

Deondre sighed. "CJ…you're an idiot."

"What? What did I do?"

"Allon and Janeam aren't supposed to know about Rikuo!"

"Who cares?"

"Daniel might…" Deondre was cut off as a fire truck, sirens blazing, blew down the street towards the Luxor.

* * *

(Author's Notes: The Luxor is one the casinos of Las Vegas. It is shaped like a pyramid, with an Egyptian theme to it. Its outside is black, with a giant spotlight at the tip of the pyramid which is so powerful that the beam can be seen for miles away.) 

People streamed out of the entrances of the casino, screaming about monsters. Rikuo calmly strolled through them, somehow not getting touched at all. ("I wonder what the fuss is all about.")

Inside a single shadow stood in the middle of the casino floor. It had already torn away all of the nearby structures and video poker machines. Growling, the shadow took form slowly. "This place is not the temple of Apep. What is this mockery?" The structure of the building shook with his rage. "They would dare to mock Apep? Fools!" His rage increased…he would destroy it all in the name of his god.

Rikuo whistled in amazement while he walked right towards the shadow. "Well what's this? Have the Egyptians summoned some kind of evil being?"

"You…" The shadow finished forming. Now it stood in black robes, its face concealed by a black hood. The only noticeable feature was a single red glimmer from under the hood. "Rikuo Amero…"

"Do I know you?" The wolf demon yawned. "Or is my fame that well known amongst the hell spawns of the universe?"

"You do not remember the Heretic?"

"The Heretic? Is it some kind of human band?" Rikuo chuckled. "I see, so this is simply a publicity stunt. Very clever…" He ducked as a knife shot past one of his ears and buried itself in the wall. "Not good enough…musician."

"Perhaps the name Hokkou then?" The shadow threw another knife, its strength still low from its revival.

Rikuo caught the knife between two fingers. "Hokkou?" His eyes narrowed. ("Where have I heard that before?")

("He truly does not remember my name…") The Heretic snarled. "A battle ritual then…to claim this place in the name of Apep and to jumpstart your memory, Amero!"

"Battle Ritual?" Rikuo blinked. "You mean a…"

"Powers of darkness…heed the will of this servant of the god of destruction…of the one who wishes to end it all and save itself from doom. I will cleanse this planet…starting with this city!" A wave of darkness ran from him, past Rikuo, and to the four corners of the Luxor. And then it traveled to the top….and to the sky.

"What?" Rikuo yelped as a wave of darkness surged up around him, stealing all sight.

Right as everyone reached the doors of the Luxor, it happened. The sky turned black. Not just night black….but pitch black. Seconds later the only light came from the sky, where a giant projection of the top of the Luxor appeared.

Rikuo slowly opened his eyes…and nearly yelled in surprise. He was hundreds of feet in the air.

The Heretic stood calmly on the other side of the pyramid-shaped building, the spotlight between them. "Let the humans of this place look upon you. After all, you are their only hope to be saved."

Rikuo looked down, but could barely see anyone through the darkness that seemed to flow like water around him. "What did you mean by Battle Ritual?"

"A Battle Ritual is when two champions meet on the field of their choice. Because of my current physical condition fighting would be pointless, so we will duel in a darkness game. The medium of this world is unfamiliar to me, but…"

"It is with cards." The wolf demon had already removed his duel disk from his backpack. Taking a small box out of the bag, he opened it and looked through his spare cards. ("Some of the cards I raided from Sestros before leaving that accursed island…they will find use against this opponent, whoever he is.") Making the last adjustments to his deck, he slammed it home and turned the disk on.

The Heretic already wore a warped duel disk, the very steel of the device seeming like it might fall apart at any moment. Within the slid of that disk rested a deck. "Cards….interesting theory. I will learn quickly of this new 'game'. So…who would you like to start?"

Rikuo smiled slightly. ("He has no idea how to duel…") "Challenger first."

Heretic- 8000

Rikuo- 8000

* * *

At the base of the Luxor Deondre, CJ, and Rebecca all stared at the projection of the duel in the sky. ("Oh no…") They each knew that this darkness didn't mean anything good for any of them. 

Janeam and Allon both blinked in amazement at the sky. "Wow…"

* * *

The Heretic looked down at the deck. 

Rikuo rolled his eyes. "Both players start the game with five cards in their hand. During the start of their turn they draw one card to indicate their turn is beginning."

Doing so, the Heretic fanned out his hand. ("I see. It is something like the darkness games enforced by the rules of the Dark Halo. Except there are limitations on the abilities of the competitors because of the fact their powers and monsters are sealed within cards. As such…") "I believe I understand. So I play this monster! Immortal Dragon (900/600) in attack mode!" A bone dragon appeared on the field. "Also, I'll play this card…" The card slid into his disk, but a loud beep was his answer. "Hmmm?"

Rikuo snickered. "You're trying to play a trap card. You must set it face-down on the field for now."

The Heretic tapped a button on the slot and the beeping stopped. "I see…well then I suppose I'll end my turn."

Rikuo drew. ("This guy is screwed…") "I summon Reflect Bounder (1700/1000) in attack mode!" A red machine covered in mirrors appeared on the field. "Battle! Reflect Bounder attacks Immortal Dragon with Aura Laser!" A beam of light shot from the center mirror of the machine monster and hit the dragon, blowing it apart. "Heh…"

Heretic- 7200

Rikuo- 8000

The Heretic, from under his hood, sneered. "You're the fool this time Amero! Do you think I would have such trouble with this game? Reverse card open!" As his face-down card flipped up Reflect Bounder's mirrors turned black. "Ritual to Apep activates when a monster on my field is destroyed as a result of battle! All face-up monsters on your field will be destroyed!" Reflect Bounder exploded, the pieces of it dissolving before they hit the ground.

Rikuo paled. ("He tricked me…bastard…") "I set two cards face-down on the field and end my turn." Two cards shimmered into existence in front of him.

The Heretic drew. "So Rikuo, tell me exactly what it feels like to be the ass of a horse."

Without skipping a beat the wolf demon replied, "Something like it feels like to be with your mother."

"Any other demon would be offended by such a sick idea…however; Apep cares not for your stupid mockery." A card slid out of his graveyard. "Immortal Dragon, at any time, can be returned to my hand from my graveyard." Adding the card to his hand, he now had six cards. "Now then…" He slapped down a card. "I summon Immortal Dragon (900/600) in attack mode!" The Bone Dragon reappeared in play. "Attack his life points directly!" Snapping out its wings, the dragon launched right into Rikuo and jammed its nails right into his shoulder, blood spraying out of the wound.

Heretic- 7200

Rikuo- 7100

Rikuo screamed in pain and dropped to one knee. The blood soaked his shirt.

The Heretic pointed at Rikuo's deck. "The effect of Immortal Dragon is that when it deals you life point damage the top card of your deck is sent to the graveyard."

Rikuo snarled as the top card of his deck shimmered into the air and revealed itself. "Irios the Steel Monarch…" (2700/2300) The card snapped down into his graveyard slot. ("Damn you…")

The Heretic fanned out his hand. "And now that I've reminded you what it means to battle someone with skill…let me continue my turn." Taking a card from his hand he slid it into his disk. "Burning Infection activates now!" The card appeared on his field in holographic form. "This magic card activates during a turn that you have taken damage from a monster on my field. The damage you have taken will be dealt again, treated as if the monster had hit you once more!" A phantom version of the Immortal Dragon appeared on the field and launched towards Rikuo, slashing its claws right into his wounded shoulder.

Heretic- 7200

Rikuo- 6200

The wolf demon cried out in pure disease-driven pain. "Damn you…" Slowly standing up, he growled as the top card of his deck snapped up into the air to show him what it was. "Limiter Removal…" The card flew down into his graveyard slot.

The Heretic slid a card into his disk. "I set one card face-down on the field. Now go ahead Amero."

Rikuo snapped the top card off of his deck. "I'll make you pay for thinking that you are anywhere near my skill level, Heretic!" Glancing at the drawn card, he slapped it down. "I summon Z-Metal Tank (1500/1300) in attack mode!" A yellow metal tank appeared on the field. "Battle! Z-Metal Tank attacks Immortal Dragon with Beam Laser!" The 'eye' of the tank released a beam of energy that hit the dragon and cut it in half, blowing it apart into dust.

Heretic- 6600

Rikuo- 6200

The Heretic, his robes blown back by the backlash of his destroyed monster, pointed at his set card. "I activate the trap card Destructive Lightning!" The card flipped up to reveal a picture of lightning striking a goblin and blowing it apart. "This card triggers when an attack mode monster on my field is destroyed! One monster on your field is destroyed and you will lose half of the attack points of the destroyed monster!" Lightning shot from the card, hit the machine, and shattered it instantly.

Rikuo twitched wildly as the electricity slammed right into him, dropping him to the ground.

Heretic- 6600

Rikuo- 5450

The Heretic discarded a card from his hand. "Also, when a monster on your field is destroyed I can discard the magic card Curse Fire to end your battle phase and deal you 500 life points of damage."

Rikuo, who had been trying to recover from the damage he had suffered, was forced to the ground by even more fire that burned into his body and soul.

Heretic- 6600

Rikuo- 4950

The Heretic drew. "I return Immortal Dragon to my hand." A card shimmered into existence next to his drawn card, leaving him with six hand cards again. "This game is actually quite fun…all things considered."

* * *

Everyone stared in horror at the sky. Even those who didn't now anything about Duel Monsters knew that Rikuo was in trouble. And though not everyone was sure what was going on, they knew it was truly happening. 

Deondre clenched his fist. "This guy has incredible skill…every card he plays is perfectly set up. Any damage Rikuo can deal him he simply uses to his advantage through his trap cards…"

CJ grimaced. "If Rikuo can draw Daniel's Jinzo card, then he can negate those traps…"

Janeam frowned. "But with the effect of Immortal Dragon, that guy can discard cards from Daniel's deck. If one of the cards he gets is Jinzo, then there's no chance of Daniel winning."

Allon shivered. "But…there has to be a way to revive Jinzo. Can't he use Monster Reborn on it?"

"He can," Rebecca gulped. "But if Monster Reborn is destroyed…"

* * *

The Heretic slapped a card down onto his disk. "I summon Immortal Dragon (900/600) in attack mode." His bone dragon appeared on the field again. "Attack his life points directly!" It launched across the field and slashed its claws down onto the fallen demon's back. 

Heretic- 6600

Rikuo- 4050

Rikuo's eyes slowly opened and looked up to see what card he had lost. "Monster Reborn…"

* * *

Deondre, CJ, Allon, Janeam and Rebecca all paled.

* * *

The Heretic sneered. "I'm not done yet! From my hand I play the magic card Split Self!" The Immortal Dragon turned into two smaller dragons in crouching positions. "This card removes my monster from play and creates two tokens with half of its stats." (450/300X2) "Also, I set two cards face-down. End turn." 

Rikuo stood up slowly. "Draw!" Glancing at the drawn card, he slapped it down. "I summon X-Head Cannon (1800/1500) to the field in attack mode!" A blue and yellow machine appeared on the field. "Attacking would most likely trigger a trap, so I set one card face-down and end my turn."

The Heretic drew. "You think you're safe? I sacrifice my two dragon tokens to summon a much stronger monster! Master of the Plague (2700/2700) in attack mode!" A disease-ridden corpse in priestly robes appeared on the field and opened its mouth. "Attack X-Head Cannon now!" Green mist escaped from its mouth and washed over the machine monster, shattering it.

Heretic- 6600

Rikuo- 3150

Rikuo felt sick as the mist blew into his face.

"I'm not done yet! The effect of Master of the Plague discards the top five cards of your deck when you are dealt life point damage!" The Heretic sneered as the top five cards of Rikuo's floated up for them to look at. "Let's see…Monster Returned, Y-Dragon Head, Metalmorph, Mechanical Chaser, and Lord's Ascension. Such a shame, a few of those cards seemed useful…"

Rikuo climbed to his feet. "I'm…not done yet…"

The Heretic smirked underneath his hood. "End turn…"

Rikuo drew. As he looked upon the drawn card his lips curled slightly. "I'll shut you up right now…by summoning Ancient Gear Soldier (1300/1300) in attack mode!" A humanoid robot made of pieces of metal and gears appeared on the field. "Also, I play the equipment magic card Howling Sword!"

"Howling Sword?" The Heretic sneered. "Ah yes, your personal weapon."

The giant blue-white flaming sword appeared strapped across the soldier's back. "This card will raise the attack power of Ancient Gear Soldier by 1000 points!" (2300/1300) "And then that total is doubled!" (4600/1300) "Ancient Gear Soldier, attack with Ferocious Bolt!" Snapping up its gun the machine unleashed a barrage of bullets that tore into the plague master and blew it apart.

Heretic- 4700

Rikuo- 3150

"Reverse card…"

Rikuo held up a finger. "Until the damage step of this fight is over you can't trigger magic or trap cards. So therefore your trap won't…"

The Heretic threw back his head and laughed. "The effect of your card is pointless! My trap is Plague Destruction, which triggers when my monster is destroyed! Not only will the destroying monster be destroyed itself, but the top five cards of your deck will be sent to the graveyard!" A spear of green mist shot from the card, pierced the Ancient Gear Soldier, and then pierced Rikuo's deck.

Rikuo didn't even get to see the destroyed cards this time. ("I have nineteen cards left in my deck…") Sliding the last card into his disk, he grimaced. ("However, I have four set cards to his single one. As long as he doesn't draw anything powerful, I'll be alright.") "End turn."

The Heretic drew. "Now then…I special summon Apep's Avatar!" (2800/2800) A giant snake appeared on his field. "When I have no cards in my hand this monster can be special summoned to the field! However…during this turn it cannot battle. So for the moment you are safe…or are you?"

Rikuo narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean?"

"It's quite simple, my dear general. I have the strongest monster in play. You have none. End turn."

Rikuo drew. "You have the strongest? Not quite…" He threw the card down onto his disk. "Mage's Guardian (1000/1000) is summoned to the field!" A robot wearing a magician's pointed hat appeared on the field. "For every card in my magic/trap zone, this monster gains 500 attack and defense points!" (3000/3000) "Battle!" His machine lifted its arm and fired a blast of energy that spiraled towards the giant avatar.

"Reverse card open!" The Heretic's face-down card flipped up and the blast stopped in mid-air. "Shield of Apep negates any attack."

Rikuo snarled. "End turn…"

As the Heretic drew, a dark smile crossed his face. "Tell me Rikuo, how does it feel to stare down death? Because you see, the attack of Apep's avatar is actually only 2500. Its attack strength is increased by 300 for every monster I have in play. Therefore I set one monster face-down." (3100/3100)

Rikuo gasped. "No…"

"Avatar of Apep, attack his machine!" The snake launched forward and chomped down on the robot, swallowing it whole. "End turn."

Heretic- 4700

Rikuo- 3050

Rikuo looked down at his deck. ("What can I do? With that much attack power none of my set cards will work against that thing. I need a way to…") He clenched his fist. "Draw!"

_To be continued…_

To Seeker of the Soul: Of course bad guys never stay dead. It's in the job description that you can't be a bad guy if you die and stay dead.

To Bobbomp: I suppose about 20 or so.


	5. Part 5

_Demon Duelist Legacy Movie 1; The Heretic's Rebirth_

_Rikuo drew. "You have the strongest? Not quite…" He threw the card down onto his disk. "Mage's Guardian (1000/1000) is summoned to the field!" A robot wearing a magician's pointed hat appeared on the field. "For every card in my magic/trap zone, this monster gains 500 attack and defense points!" (3000/3000) "Battle!" His machine lifted its arm and fired a blast of energy that spiraled towards the giant avatar._

"_Reverse card open!" The Heretic's face-down card flipped up and the blast stopped in mid-air. "Shield of Apep negates any attack."_

_Rikuo snarled. "End turn…"_

_As the Heretic drew, a dark smile crossed his face. "Tell me Rikuo, how does it feel to stare down death? Because you see, the attack of Apep's avatar is actually only 2500. Its attack strength is increased by 300 for every monster I have in play. Therefore I set one monster face-down." (3100/3100)_

_Rikuo gasped. "No…"_

"_Avatar of Apep, attack his machine!" The snake launched forward and chomped down on the robot, swallowing it whole. "End turn."_

_Heretic- 4700_

_Rikuo- 3050_

_Rikuo looked down at his deck. ("What can I do? With that much attack power none of my set cards will work against that thing. I need a way to…") He clenched his fist. "Draw!"_

Looking at the drawn card, Rikuo snapped it up. "I activate Chaos Draw! This card places the top three cards of my deck on the field. You select one and the card goes into my hand."

The Heretic smiled and lifted his hand. "I choose…"

Rikuo let out a little gasp and his mind burned.

* * *

_5000 years ago…_

Jourgen leapt back, his Grand Pike held in front of him. "You're definitely good. But you're outnumbered and outgunned. So how about you hold still so that I can shove this point right into your black heart?"

Hokkou snapped up his sword and charged, the blade hitting the body of the pike so hard it nearly broke. "Apep drives my power! No one can stop me!"

The dragon demon had to dance backwards, eyes wide. ("This bastard is so fast and so strong…") Then the point of Hokkou's sword pierced his side and he dropped.

A hail of arrows dropped down onto Hokkou's body, but not a single shaft touched him. "And your foolish soldiers interfere." He lifted his hand up at the gathered archers. "Die." An explosion of black fire sprang out and swallowed up all of them.

"NO!" Jourgen jammed the butt of his pike into the wolf demon's face and leapt forward, driving his claws in as deep as possible into the hole in the Heretic's stomach.

Hokkou punched Jourgen right in the face, dropping him instantly. "Stupid fool." He looked up and over to see Rikuo still kneeling, eyes wide. "Still confused, little Rikky?"

Rikuo stared at the single red eye…and trembled. "Hokkou…this isn't you…"

"Oh but it is. I found something amazing when I went to Egypt. I found my god…"

* * *

_Current time…_

Rikuo felt the memory…and clenched his fist tightly. "Hokkou…you bastard…"

Hokkou pointed at the middle card. "That's the card you draw. Go ahead."

Rikuo slid the two un-chosen cards into his graveyard slot and looked at the card that was his to draw. ("You bastard…I remember…and I cannot forgive you. I cannot and will not!") "This card is the culmination of my rage! Draw!" Snapping the card out of its slot, he looked at it and instantly formulated his strategy. His general's mind had awakened. "Reverse card open! Grave Shifting! This trap card sends one card from my graveyard into yours!"

"What card could you possibly want to give me?" Hokkou sneered from underneath his hood. "There is no purpose to your play…"

Rikuo pointed at the next card in the row of three. "Also, reverse card open! Mechanical Magic Mirror! This trap takes one magic card from your graveyard and activates it for me! And I'm choosing the card I sent to your graveyard…" The card appeared in the belly of a mirror-covered robot that appeared on his field. "…Monster Reborn!" A card popped out of his graveyard and a huge humanoid robot covered in gears appeared on the field. "Irios the Steel Monarch (2700/2300) is special summoned!"

"What will that trash do against me?" Hokkou's Avatar of Apep hissed at the royal machine.

Rikuo's hand traveled over to the next card. "Reverse card open!" As it flipped up light exploded from his graveyard slot. "Junk Dealer lets me revive two machines at half attack points!" X-Head Cannon (900/1500) and Y-Dragon Head (750/1600) appeared on his field. "Final reverse card open! Machine Dealer lets me send two machine monsters on my field into my graveyard to special summon one machine monster from my deck!" The two fusion machines disappeared, replaced by a green-armored humanoid robot. "Jinzo (2400/1500) comes to my call!" Crossing its arms across its chest, the machine chuckled coldly.

"And now you have two pieces of trash." Hokkou shrugged. "I'll crush you and them soon."

Rikuo smirked. "I offer these two monsters as sacrifices!" A whirlwind exploded around the machines and they disappeared. Bright white light fell down across the whole city. "Come down now…"

A form larger than the casinos themselves floated down from the sky. It was like a machine mixed with a castle. Letting out a steel rumble, it stopped right behind Rikuo. "Alexander the Holy Guardian (3500/4500) is summoned!" Alexander let out a deep metal rumble that shook the whole landscape.

Everyone in the whole city didn't even need the projection to see the giant machine castle. And they all stared in amazement.

Rikuo pointed at the Avatar of Apep. "Alexander's special ability cuts the attack of all dark type monsters in play in half." (1550/3100)

"Only 1550 attack points?" Hokkou leaned back, gritting his teeth.

"Take this, traitor! Alexander attacks with Holy Crush!" The castle slowly lifted up one titanic leg and dropped it onto the snake monster, destroying it instantly.

Heretic- 3750

Rikuo- 3050

Rikuo closed his eyes. "End turn."

Hokkou drew. "I'm far from done! End turn!"

Rikuo drew. "Go Alexander, Holy Crush!" The castle dropped its leg down on the set card, shattering it. "Anything Alexander destroys loses its effect. End turn."

Hokkou drew. As he looked at the drawn card a dark smile crossed his face. "You fool...I'll crush you right now! First I activate Monster Reborn! Return Avatar of Apep! The giant snake reappeared. "Then I sacrifice that creature to summon the mightiest of the mighty…Apep; Destroyer of All!" (4500/4000) The snake grew huge in size, to the point it could engulf the machine castle if it needed to. "Apep…will crush your castle!"

"But the power of Alexander cuts the attack of Apep in half!" The wolf demon clenched his fist. "How is your monster surviving?"

"Simple…it is immune to monster and magic effects." Apep hissed, sending shockwaves across the whole area. "And now your monster dies! Attack, my god!" Apep doves towards Alexander, jaws open to end it.

Rikuo had something else in mind though. "Alexander isn't so easily defeated! Instant Defense!" Alexander's body shifted slightly and Apep bounced off of it. "I can switch Alexander to defense mode any time I wish."

Hokkou shrugged. "End turn then."

Rikuo drew. "You can think you are safe as long as you want. But the truth is that your time is running out. End turn."

Hokkou drew. ("My time is running out hmm? Fool…I'm in control of this duel and you know it.") "I summon Right Hand of Apep (1500/1400) to the field." A much smaller snake appeared on the field. "While Apep is in play, this monster cannot be attacked. Also, Apep is now immune to trap effects. End turn."

Rikuo drew. ("Three hand cards…but only one of them are useful…") "End turn."

Hokkou drew. "Time is running out. I summon Left Hand of Apep (0/0) to the field." Another smaller snake appeared. "While Apep is in play this monster cannot be attacked either. Also, Apep now cannot be attacked either. End turn."

Rikuo drew. ("Still not enough…but if I can draw Hell Meteor this duel will be over…") "End turn."

Hokkou felt a dark burst of energy run through his arm. "Tell me Rikuo…since you apparently remember me…tell me why you think I did what I did."

"Because you are evil. And because you are a traitor!" The wolf demon's claws bared themselves.

"Fool…if anyone has the right to be mad, it is me." He pointed at Rikuo. "They died because you interfered…and because of that…because of that…" His shoulders started to tremble slowly. "And now…and now Apep will destroy you! I play the ultimate magic card, Tides of Chaos! This card will randomly affect my field in random ways…except that thanks to Apep and its servants being play, the effect is buffered from all negative effects!"

Heretic- Infinite

Rikuo- 3050

"Infinite life points?" Rikuo stared in amazement. "That's…."

"I was hoping to increase Apep's attack power, but I suppose this will do. End turn." Hokkou had regained his composure.

Rikuo snarled and looked down at his disk. ("This is ridiculous…how did he do that? All of that work…") Fanning out the four cards in his hand, he used his free hand to draw a card and glanced at it. ("Howling Sword…but I can't attack.") His eyes flicked over the other four cards, one after another. ("Steel Prism, Polymerization, Touch of Death, and Grasping Shadows.") Inserting Howling Sword into his hand, he looked back at Alexander and smiled slightly. ("That will work.")

Hokkou smirked coldly. "Just end your turn. There is nothing you can do, is there?"

The wolf demon closed his eyes and felt his general's mind worked hard to figure out a way to use this to his advantage. And only one idea came to mind. ("It's dangerous…but I have to risk it.") "For now I end my turn."

Hokkou drew. Glancing at the card, he smiled. "End turn."

Rikuo let a little smile slip across his face. "Hokkou…you just did the worst possible thing. For you see…" Alexander began to shudder, creating a large earthquake that shook the whole city. "Every one of my standby phases a counter is added to Alexander. When there are six counters on my monster…" Ports began opening all over the body of the giant machine. "…every card on the field will be eliminated."

"Fool, you can't eliminate Apep with that effect."

Rikuo didn't listen though. "Alexander, destroy it all! Rain of Fire!" Lasers exploded out of every port on Alexander, shooting beam after beam into the air and through the cloud cover. Letting out one metal screech, Alexander exploded into dust.

Hokkou looked up at the sky, as did everyone else in the whole city. Other than a few flashes of light though, nothing happened.

Rikuo and Hokkou met eyes for a moment. And it was like looking into a mirror for both of them. And then the sky fell, beams of light slamming down onto the field. Apep's Right Hand and Left Hand hissed in pain and shuddered. They exploded, followed by Apep. "And it ends now."

Smoke rose up in huge plumes across the whole city as the rain of fire finally ended. And then it rained, water dripping down and drenching out numerous small fires that had been caused by the power of Alexander's final attack.

"Did he do it?" Deondre asked, water dripping down onto his face as he looked up at the smoke-filled projection in the sky. "Did he destroy Apep?"

"I don't know. That thing was horrible." Rebecca stared up at the sky, her eyes wide and her hair drenched wet already.

Rikuo brushed some of his wet hair back and smirked. "Apep is destroyed, and that means you are open for my final direct attack."

"Really? Then you are a fool." As the smoke cleared, a deep hissing filled the air.

"No way…" Rikuo stared at Apep as its head broke through the smoke. "That can't be possible…"

"Apep's Sacrifice (0/0) was discarded from my hand to negate the destruction of my creature," Hokkou sneered calmly. "Apep now can attack your life points directly during my next turn. Are you ready to die?"

Rikuo looked down at the ground…and out towards the now dead city of Las Vegas. ("It's over…unless…") Flexing his hand, he drew the top card of his deck and held it up in front of his face. As he looked at it, fire burned in his eyes. Not just any kind of fire though…it was hell-fire.

Hokkou's eyes widened in amazement…such dark energy. ("A power like that…how does he have it?")

"Get ready to burn…by the end of this turn Hokkou…you will die…you will lose…" Rikuo felt a fire burn in his chest. It was a fire that could only come from what he was about to do. ("Forgive me mother…forgive me father…but he has to be stopped.")

Hokkou removed his hood and narrowed his eye. "Death will not stop me. You know that."

"No…this will end it right now!" Rikuo fanned out his hand. "By the end of this turn…by the end of this turn…" His eyes burned brightly in the gloom of the darkness and rain. "…brother, you will die!"

_Intermission_


	6. Part 6

_Demon Duelist Legacy 1; The Heretic's Rebirth_

"_Get ready to burn…by the end of this turn Hokkou…you will die…you will lose…" Rikuo felt a fire burn in his chest. It was a fire that could only come from what he was about to do. ("Forgive me mother…forgive me father…but he has to be stopped.")_

_Hokkou removed his hood and narrowed his eye. "Death will not stop me. You know that."_

"_No…this will end it right now!" Rikuo fanned out his hand. "By the end of this turn…by the end of this turn…" His eyes burned brightly in the gloom of the darkness and rain. "…brother, you will die!"_

Hokkou started to laugh. "Apep will bring it all to an end. You know this, don't you?"

"We'll see." Rikuo started to reach for a card in his hand, but was sent to the ground as the earth began to shake insanely. "What's going on?"

"It's simple…" Hokkou pointed at Apep. "This place will soon be Apep's…and when it does there will be no way to banish such darkness. This city will forever be plunged into destruction!"

"We'll see about that!" Rikuo slid a card into his disk. "Steel Prism activates when I remove a level seven or higher machine monster from my graveyard." Alexander slid out of his graveyard slot. "I draw three cards and discard one. At the end of this turn I discard my hand." Snapping three cards off of his deck, Rikuo looked at each of them. "I discard Wolf Demon Lord." As the card slid into his graveyard, a card in his hand appeared on the field. "Grasping Shadows activates now! When a dark monster from my hand is sent to the graveyard, this card returns the monster to my hand. Also, I may take one dark monster with the same attack score and add it to my hand!" Grabbing Jinzo from his graveyard, Rikuo flipped both cards over. "Polymerization! Come out now, Steel Wolf General!" (3400/2000) A powerful green-armored samurai resting a giant sword over one shoulder lowered onto the field.

"It's a little too late to send in the cavalry. I've already won." Hokkou sneered. "A hero has no place here."

"There is always a place for a hero." Rikuo sneered back. "But I'm no hero." A card slammed into his disk. "Legendary Weapon-Howling Sword!" The giant green claymore turned into a giant katana burning with blue-white phantom flame. "Steel Wolf General's attack power is increased by 1000 points and then doubled!" (8800/2000)

"I have infinite life points….and Apep cannot be destroyed." Hokkou started to laugh…

"Touch of Death activates from my hand! This card destroys one monster on my field and drains you of 1000 life points." Steel Wolf General shuddered and blew apart.

"Why are you destroying your monsters?" Hokkou, along with the rest of the city, didn't understand what was going on.

Rikuo slammed another card into his disk. "Now, feel the flames of hell! Hell Meteor activates!" Up above the city the darkness was pierced by a tear in the sky. From within it a burning vortex of red and black fire could be seen. "By the effect of Hell Meteor, you take 4000 points of damage!" A giant burning red fireball dropped out of the sky and crashed into Hokkou, lighting the whole city with a hellish red glow.

From within the Hell Meteor, Hokkou snickered. "Such a trifle of pain…don't you have something better?"

The flames of the Hell Meteor were vacuumed into the graveyard slot, leaving the two standing on the now smoldering platform.

"Well Rikuo…you tried your hardest. But apparently you are out of luck, because I am too strong for you." Hokkou waved his hand out to the city. "Now speak your apologies to these humans, right before they all die!"

Screams echoed from the city, as the ground began to tear open. Fire and lava exploded out of the ground, and the sky became darker than dark. It became negative.

"Can't you see the beauty of Apep?" Hokkou turned to look at his baby brother. "Well? Isn't it magnificent?"

Rikuo glanced around at the hellish scene unfolding around him with a jaded eye. "It's all very nice…if that is your sort of…" Then he saw something that ended that line of dark thought.

Down below them both was a huge river of lava, and between two huge expanses of the red-hot liquid rock, there was a small island. And on that island, CJ, Deondre, Allon, Janeam, and Rebecca all worked furiously to put out the fires that were melting the very ground they were standing on.

"This is not right…" Rikuo closed his eyes. "How can you do this to those who are innocent?"

"There are no innocents in this world. You know that…" Hokkou looked down at the lava flows with an anger that surpassed such mortal dangers. "You know that because they died for you…they died to protect you!" His hand snapped up and pointed at Rikuo. "You are no brother of mine any longer!"

"I already knew that…I already knew that I am no longer worthy of the honor of the Amero family. However…" Rikuo glared at him. "Do you think Apep promises to bring them back? Do you think there is such a way to return them to life through destruction?"

"No…there is no way to bring them back. We are but mortals, and are below the notice of our gods. However, I will destroy it all. No one will ever suffer again, because no one will ever experience life! I refuse to live with this dishonor, and I will destroy the whole universe to get rid of it!" Hokkou roared out into the burning city before him. "I hate you all! Why must the world be filled with beings who kill? WHY?" He dropped to his knees. "I will not let this disgrace of a planet exist. Even if I must do the unthinkable, I will end it all."

"Is that what you believe? Is that what you hope for?" Rikuo scoffed. "You want to end it all? The world is full of nothing but disappointment and hatred, right?" He calmed down…and started to laugh. "It's stupid…your purpose is not this. I used to come to you for advice and for comfort…what happened to the brother I loved?"

"He died with out parents." Hokkou wiped at the single line of tears that went down his cheek. "He died when he thought that you were dead as well. I sought to destroy everything so that I wouldn't have to imagine your three dead faces staring at me every day of the rest of my life. Then I learned you were alive, and I became angry. I became angry because Apep had shown me your deception." He stood up and pointed at Rikuo. "And now I'll crush everything you care about, just to let you feel what I still feel to this day! For being so innocent as a child, and for being so loving…for loving me…you had to pay. I will wipe out my past, and then move to the future through Apep!"

"………….." Rikuo stood in silence.

"Sestros was a sick rat…a beast that deserved to be killed. Then I found out that you were his precious little lap dog…his precious little weapon of destruction." Hokkou snarled and bared his fangs. "You killed them, didn't you? You and Sestros…you and that disgusting black shadow of a demon."

Rikuo slowly lifted his head to look at his brother, with tear-filled eyes. "Is that what you think?"

"What else am I supposed to think?" Hokkou roared again. "You betrayed them…you killed them with your own two hands, didn't you?"

"Shut up…"

"You ran the sword that killed them both…you ran the sword through mother's head…"

"Shut up!"

Hokkou stepped a little closer, Apep hissing in anger as well. "You stabbed father through the throat while he slept…"

"Shut up!" Rikuo's eyes began to glow red.

"It was you! Our brother disappeared…did you kill him too?" Hokkou stepped closer. "Well? Who else did you kill that we loved? Did you and your master trample the body of our brother and leave it lost in a valley somewhere, perhaps? Or maybe you simply desecrated him so badly that no one could tell who it originally way?" His single red eyes shimmered in the darkness. "Come on little Rikky, tell your big brother all of your sins."

"SHUT UP!" Rikuo roared out, and a blast of black and red aura exploded from him, sending Hokkou flying back to his side of the field. The shockwave washed over the city, shaking it as a whole for a moment.

Hokkou stared at the aura in amazement as it grew larger and larger. "What is this?"

"My…true…strength…." Rikuo snarled darkly. "I have atoned for my sins! I have slain Sestros! And now brother, I will slay you!" One of the two cards in his hand were snapped up. "I activate the magic card Hellish Rebirth! When Hell Meteor is in the graveyard, along with Steel Wolf General and Howling Sword….I may remove all three of them from the game to special summon a new monster from my deck!" The darkness was parted by another burst of reddish hell light.

As it slowly lowered onto the playing field, the destruction actually seemed to increase in magnitude. It wore armor so ornate it nearly seemed pointless for battle, and in one hand it held a single katana that's blade shimmered with an energy that could only be described as angry.

Rikuo and the monster's eyes reflected the same Hell Meteor black and red. "Howling Hell Knight in attack mode!" (4000/4000) The giant warrior calmly looked at Apep. Then it lifted its sword up and pointed the blade at the huge dark god. "This is the end for you, Hokkou! Go Sword of Hell Meteor!" The warrior dove towards the hissing god.

"You fool…Apep cannot be defeated in such a manner!" Apep's jaws clamped around the blade, unaffected by the burning red energy. "It cannot be destroyed as a result of battle!"

Rikuo roared in anger. "I said attack! Sword of Hell Meteor!" Echoing the roar, the warrior pushed against the stronger snake with all of its might. Then with a echoing scream, the Howling Hell Knight was destroyed.

Hokkou started to laugh. "You think to fight the ultimate darkness with your pitiful mortal anger?"

"Quickplay magic card activate!" Rikuo slammed his last card into the magic/trap slot of his disk. "Celestial Guidance activates when Howling Hell Knight is destroyed as a result of battle!" The wolf demon's angered eyes faded, revealing a slight amusement. "Let's see your darkness hold this off." Then the light-switch for the world was flicked, and everything was bathed in holy white light.

Hokkou covered his eyes, blinded by the sheer strength and suddenness of the light. "What's going on?"

"Revive, my knight." Rikuo pointed up at the sky. "Emerge from the heavens in your true form!" A glowing humanoid form lowered down onto the field. It wore a helmet of gold and white, with matching armor that seemed to radiate and amplify the already blinding amount of light being shed upon the city. In one hand it held a shield, and in the other hand it held a shimmering katana with a blade of pure gold light. "Howl, Celestial Wolf Knight!" Opening its golden eyes, the knight tilted back it head and howled. A shockwave ripped across the landscape, restoring everything to normal in one flash.

_------------_

Rebecca slowly stood up, her face dirty with ash. All around her, little motes of light lifted into the air. "Did we die? Are we in heaven?"

Deondre stood up and looked up at the shining form that stood above the city like a beacon of hope. "No…but I think heaven just came to us."

Everyone else in the whole city stood in complete awe.

_--------------_

Rikuo stood tall, his body shimmering as the lifting motes of light entered the body of the Celestial Wolf Knight and his own form.

Hokkou roared in anger. "Die! Apep; Destroyer of all…" The giant snake reared back, ready to smother the much smaller monster with its body. "And I'll kill you myself!" His feet left the ground, and the snake struck.

Rikuo's hand snapped up and grabbed Hokkou's wrist with ease, snapping it to the side and sending the whole demon attached to it flying off in a different direction. "Shine, Celestial Wolf Knight!"

The golden warrior snapped its shield up and a wall of light appeared right in front of Apep's head. With an echoing crash, the evil god avatar was flattened against the solid energy instantly.

Hokkou stumbled to his feet and drew his staff up, a ball of red energy at the head. "Don't get cocky!" The ball turned into a wave that swallowed up Rikuo.

Casually, the wolf demon strolled out of the red power without a single scratch on him, slowly approaching Hokkou. His eyes shimmered silver-white against the background of complete white behind him. "Call, Celestial Wolf Knight."

The golden demon knight snapped its sword up into the air and the blade shimmered with pure gold energy. A heavenly song filled the air and Apep struggled harder against the impassable wall of light.

Hokkou charged once more. "Apep will crush you! There is no power beyond him!" The staff shimmered and turned into a sword. "And now…" He slammed the blade onto Rikuo's shoulder as hard as he could. "…you will see the truth!"

Rikuo glanced at the sword as it connected with his shoulder. Snapping his right claw up, he grabbed the blade. "Focus, Celestial Wolf Knight." His right claws began to glow with silver energy.

The Celestial Wolf Knight dropped the wall, and Apep shot down to bite as hard as possible on the warrior's right side.

"Burn, Celestial Wolf Knight!" Rikuo's arm tugged and the sword shattered into thousands of bits of metal.

Apep howled in pain as its fangs disintegrated, leaving it writhing in agony.

Hokkou stared at Rikuo for a few moments. "How could this be possible? It's that again? It's that power?"

Rikuo cocked his still-glowing right claw back. "Strike, Celestial Wolf Knight!" His claw slammed right into the center of Hokkou's chest.

(Instant Win) The Celestial Wolf Knight snapped its sword up calmly, and then sheathed the weapon. Letting out a pained hiss, Apep faded away.

Hokkou stared at Rikuo, his blood emptying entirely from his body. "Rikky?"

Both Rikuo and the Celestial Wolf Knight opened their mouths. "May you find peace in heaven, dark one."

Hokkou's eyes slowly closed. ("I see…maybe I could finally…feel…free.") His body began to smoke. "Please, cleanse the darkness completely…let no piece of this nightmare that was me remain in the world…"

Rikuo felt tears stream down his cheeks. "As you wish….brother." There was a flash of light, and Hokkou was gone.

Heretic- 0

Rikuo- Instant Win

_---------------_

Rikuo stumbled out of the Luxor, his eyes closed. ("Hokkou…you blamed me for it? Did you think that is what I did?") Even as Daniel's friends began to approach him, he simply sank into the darkness of the boy's mind, letting their collective body collapse to the cold ground.

_-------------------_

_I have lost my way long ago. I died thinking only of revenge, and not the right kind of revenge either. No matter what I believe of myself, I know that I'll never fill the shoes left in the wake of Hokkou._

_Before he left to explore the world, he was the anti-demon of our family. There was no anger, hatred, or feral instinct within him. He was a devout believer in peace, and to think that he was the one to fall to darkness the hardest makes me wonder at what point in time will I become the next Sestros. When will the Torture King's methods show in my heart? When?_

_I always wondered what was wrong with me. Ever since I was a child, there was always something dark about me. And yet to think that I was the holy hand that delivered the blow against my 'evil' brother is a perversity that I almost cannot fathom. He was the holy man, and I was the darkness. And yet in the end it all turned around…_

_However, his words echo in my head. Once, when we were much younger, he told me that the best way to save the world was to show it the right way of living through action._

_I never was a hero. If anything, I'm the anti-hero. However, that won't stop me. Brother, for you I will become the example of right. I will show this world that everything we believed in as children was not wrong._

_Hokkou Amero, I didn't kill them. Yet at the same time I simply stood by and let it happen. Perhaps I will never fully repay the world for that stupid mistake, but I will work for that penance. I will achieve that which you had, and that which I believe you regained._

_Brother, I will be the hero you wanted to show the world._

_----_

_Let the credits roll._


End file.
